Pagoda

*Scientific name: Clerodendrum paniculatum *Growth habit: An upright evergreen shrub with an open branching habit growing to 8 feet tall and wide. The leaves are bright green, rounded to heart-like in shape and grow to a foot in diameter. Locally, plants are damaged by cold. *Light: Plant in full sun to light shade. *Water needs: Prefers a moist soil; grows best with weekly waterings. *Feedings: Light feeding of general garden fertilizer in March, June and August, if needed. Slow-release fertilizers may be substituted.

The Ishikura family: father Takemasa, mother Yuko, with daughters Keiko and Mayuko, perform on their traditional Japanese Taiko drums as "Matsuriza. " They recently demonstrated rhythm and percussion to the Sandlake District Cub Scout day camp participants at the Hunter's Creek Latter Day Saints Church. The theme of the camp for this year is "Cub Scout Day Camp Discovers the World. " Besides the traditional Japanese drumming, the scouts have also participated in other cultural and educational activities.

A bomb exploded Wednesday night at a pagoda in Rangoon, killing four people and wounding 18. The explosion occurred at the Kabaaye Pagoda, where a relic thought to be Buddha's tooth is being displayed. There were no immediate details of the explosion. The tooth is on loan from China, which lent the relic as a goodwill gesture this month. It is one of two thought to have survived since Buddha's death 2,500 years ago. The other tooth relic is kept in Sri Lanka.

*Scientific name: Clerodendrum paniculatum *Growth habit: An upright evergreen shrub with an open branching habit growing to 8 feet tall and wide. The leaves are bright green, rounded to heart-like in shape and grow to a foot in diameter. Locally, plants are damaged by cold. *Light: Plant in full sun to light shade. *Water needs: Prefers a moist soil; grows best with weekly waterings. *Feedings: Light feeding of general garden fertilizer in March, June and August, if needed. Slow-release fertilizers may be substituted.

If a cross, allegedly representing Christianity, is illegal, then is not a pagoda (defined as a religious temple) in Lake Eola Park by the city also illegal?But it seems that it's not just a cross that offends Mr. Mendelson (''Cross Fire,'' Dec. 10, by Charles Fishman). He seems easily offended by many things as indicated by his statement: ''Then we moved to Buenaventura Lakes in Kissimmee. We were comfortable until we started having all these people move in - Cubans, Puerto Ricans.'' Maybe he'll never be happy anywhere.

All that glitters is gold when it comes to the Shwedagon. Burma's best- known Buddhist shrine has 1.8 tons of gold on its main pagoda. A weather vane on top of the main gold spire features more than 1,000 diamonds and 1,500 other precious stones. The vane's finial is studded with about 5,000 smaller diamonds and gems. Planned: 288 pounds of new gold plates for the 300-foot- tall main pagoda. The 24-karat plates, donated by the public and worth more than $4 million, will raise the total number of plates on the pagoda to 19,500.

Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of the earliest Buddhist temple found in China, the Xinhua news agency said Friday.The base of the temple dating to 516 A.D. was found near the city of Luoyang in central Henan province, Xinhua said. Experts said the temple was 1,000 feet long and 695 feet wide. It had a nine-story wooden pagoda at its center with a large chapel in the rear and doors in the four walls. Experts quoted by Xinhua said the pagoda may have been almost 500 feet tall.

Singing hymns and praying for peace and luck, thousands of Buddhists greeted a holy tooth believed to have belonged to Buddha when it arrived in Taiwan on Thursday. Monks in saffron robes escorted the tooth, encased in a miniature golden pagoda, off a flight from India.

Mayor Bill Frederick wants to add a pagoda-style gazebo from Shanghai to a corner of Orlando's Eola Park, which is home to a Japanese-style rock garden adorned with a giant piece of marble from the Taiwanese city of Taipei.The gazebo, 18 feet across and 30 feet high, would be a gift from Nelson Ying, who runs the China pavilion at Epcot Center and organized Frederick's 1985 trip to China.Ying said the structure, called a ting, would have a roof resembling a pagoda's. But the gazebo would not be a pagoda because it would have only one story.

What were you taught in school about Korea's city of Kyongju? Nothing? Likewise. It's now listed by those who purport to know as one of the world's top 10 ancient cultural centers. A pagoda paradise, among crumbled fortresses and temples, the ruins of gods and wars.Weren't any dandelions in North America before the Europeans showed up.The original tomato, it's said, grew not much bigger than a marble in the wilds of Central America.Q. What makes storm clouds look so dark?A. Ice crystals therein.

Nha Trang, Vietnam, is centrally situated about 200 miles northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. With its islands, mountains and lush tropical beaches, Nha Trang is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. In 2010, the city will play host to the Miss World pageant. Nha Trang was heavily damaged in January 1968 during the Vietnam War, while I was living there. Today, landmarks such as the Long Son Pagoda with its Reclining Buddha and the Grand Hotel are not easy to find. The land where the U.S. Army set up Camp McDermott has been redeveloped.

Friends phoned the Theme Park Rangers Hotline recently with this breathless request: Where best to eat dessert at Epcot? That's a hefty question because the international options of the park's World Showcase probably outnumber the choices at any other park. A bigger problem is that my sweet tooth doesn't really kick in at any theme park. Sure, I have the occasional Mickey Premium (a.k.a. Mickey Bar, the basic mouse-shaped, chocolate-dipped vanilla ice cream on a stick), but I'm usually more concerned with hydrating.

Scientific name: Clerodendron paniculatum. Growth habit: Upright, clump-forming shrubs with numerous shoots from the ground that grow to 6 feet tall and wide. The leaves are dark green and maple-looking, with three to five lobes growing to 8 inches long and wide. Light: Grows best in full sun but tolerates light shade. Water needs: Drought tolerant; grows best when watered every 10 to14 days during the dry times. Feedings: Apply a general garden fertilizer monthly in April, June and October if needed to encourage growth.

SUZHOU, China -- The struggle between the old and the new in China -- a tug of war affecting family life, the economy and the whole society -- comes into focus in the office of Du Guo-Ling, the vice mayor of this city and keeper of its cultural heritage. Suzhou, a city of almost 6 million residents, is located west of Shanghai in the delta of the Yangtze River. It is famous for its gardens, which combine limestone rocks, water, bamboo and other plants in a landscape that changes at every turning.

Local greyhound activists will gather today at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando for a memorial and candlelight vigil to remember thousands of greyhounds found killed on an Alabama farm earlier this year. In May, a former dog-track security guard admitted to killing as many as 2,000 racing dogs by shooting them in the head for a fee of $10 each. He told investigators the dogs were brought to him by Florida greyhound trainers. Robert Rhodes faces felony animal-cruelty charges. The Orlando vigil is one of 21 scheduled across the country.

Question: I have a bay tree in my yard which has a silky web wrapped around the trunk and branches. What is it, and what should I do to treat it? R.D., Ormond Beach Answer: Do nothing! The webbing is spun by psocids or bark lice, which clean off the dead bark and lichens. They are considered very beneficial and will fade away when the bark is clean. Q: I have a ponytail palm that has outgrown the biggest pot I have. Can I plant it outside and where? L.L., DeLand A: Ponytail palms can be severely damaged if it gets below freezing for a long period of time.

Q. What Volusia County landmark was torn down in the early 1960s to allow for the straightening of State Road A1A?A. The Coquina Hotel, a grand hotel built in the late 1920s in Ormond Beach, stood in the direct line of the highway, so the road was built around it. Some 40 years later the building was leveled so that the highway could be straightened, eliminating a dangerous curve, that, according to local historians, was the location of many accidents....

KISSIMMEE - Four men armed with handguns pistol-whipped and robbed the manager of Pagoda Garden, 5737 W. U.S. Highway 192, after the restaurant closed early Thursday morning, police said.The suspects burst into the kitchen about 1 a.m. and ordered the manager and his assistant to the floor, reports said. Two of the men had guns.They demanded cash before hitting the manager on the head at least three times.The assistant opened the restaurant's safe and gave the suspects cash. The manager was not seriously injured.